TRB Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Bare with me, I'm a newbie. I've only started using AutoCad LT for the past 3 days and have picked things up quite quickly! However, one thing I just cannot seem to get my head around is the scale! I have searched the forum and I am still a bit lost with it all. My question: When printing out on an A3 paper, I need 1cm on the paper to equal 2 metres. (I am doing a residential site plan). For example, if the front boundary is 15 metres, it needs to measure 7.5cm on the paper. How on earth do I do this? Do I need the "units" in the Model space as cm or metres? Does it really matter what I put in the model space, or does it just get done in the Layout space when I'm ready to print? There is also an option for "scale" in the model format where I can choose 1:2 etc. Do I need to do this before starting any drawings? I am just confused on where to start here to be honest. Perhaps I am making it out to be more complicated that I think it is - But out of everything I have learned in the past 3 days, this is by far the hardest - Everything else has been simple! Please help! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadgad Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) You should be using a Paperspace VIEWPORT. Once created in your layout, you can click inside of it (it is essentially a window through which you view your modelspace, wherein everything should be drawn FULL SIZE) you can then set the VIEWPORT SCALE to 1:200, once you have it aligned how you want it in your viewport, confirm that the viewport scale is still 1:200, then LOCK the viewport, so that the scale does not inadvertently get changed later. If you need to change it, for some reason, UNLOCK it, and reset it. Then LOCK it again when it is how you want it to be. http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?72972-Things-you-should-know-about-Viewports. Edited March 18, 2015 by Dadgad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dipali Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Look at the " units and scale" in basics and " paper space" in beyound basics section of tutorial on this site for detail understanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldon Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 First of all, draw everything full size in model space. Much easier that way It is when you want to produce a scale drawing onto paper that the "scaling" takes place. Just be aware of several fundamental quirks of AutoCAD. AutoCAD was written using imperial units, and later on was adapted to use metric units. So there are two sets of units, and two basic templates when you start a drawing and two sets of linetypes, and two sets of hatch patterns. If you start with the correct template, then life is a bit easier. With the metric part of AutoCAD, it was written to use millimetres for units. I know that by pushing the right buttons, then the programme should sort things out, but if you can understand the basics, then you should be in control. When plotting, the metric unit for plotting is a millimetre. If you use a metre for your drawing unit, then everything is 1000 times too small when setting up the plot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRB Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Thanks for all your help guys, I think I've worked it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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